Lord of the Flies bases its plot upon a much earlier novel by R.M. Balantyne called The Coral Island.

This is the tale of three British lads who get shipwrecked on a South Pacific island during the mid-19th century. They are Jack, Ralph and Peterkin.

The tropical island is precisely the same place in both novels. The big difference between the two stories, however, lies in the quality of the boys.

Ballantyne's heroes are gentlemen -- and they remain gentlemen throughout the novel.

They are true leaders and remain totally loyal to one another. To them, the entire incident is a fun-filled adventure which they enjoy to the entirety.

Jack is the leader in The Coral Island. He is 18 years of age, whereas Ralph is 15 and Peterkin just 14. The younger boys therefore look up to Jack at all times and he takes the role of a gentle but adventurous older brother.

Although Peterkin is not quite as bright as either Jack or Ralph, he is nevertheless also a fun-loving young chap and remains a respected member of the trio.

William Golding, however, shows serious reservations about the character of the boys as Ballantyne presents them in The Coral Island.

Indeed, Golding's premise is that British boys of today are not gentlemen at all but are yobs who, if freed from strict adult control, would quickly descend into unutterable savagery.

In Lord of the Flies, therefore, much of the original plot becomes the springboard for a frightening scenario of little boys who become megalomaniacs -- little Hitlers -- who would stop at nothing, not even murder.

All the boys are younger in Lord of the Flies. Indeed, the three protagonists -- Jack, Ralph and Piggy -- are only twelve. A fourth important character -- Simon -- is also introduced and he is only six.

Peterkin is replaced by Piggy, a boy who is very logical but is fat, irritating and suffers from asthma. Golding then immediately starts eroding Piggy's comfort zone, making him an antagonist with Jack....

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...Lord of the Flies
Worksheet 1: Introduction
A. The Setting
A deserted island which is describe as a tropical paradise, and with a scar, a lagoon and a beach. It was shown by the appearance that the island was presented as beautiful as the garden of Eden. On the other hand, evilness and danger were hindered and were shown through different sentence throughout the chapters.
B. The Plot
• Exposition (Conflicts, confrontation, chaos)
In the middle of a war, a plane with a group of British schoolboys was shot down over a deserted island. Two boys, Ralph and Piggy, found a conch shell, and Piggy suggested that it could be used as a horn to call for the other boys. Once all the boys were there, they decided to elect a leader. They chose Ralph as their leader, and Ralph appointed Jack to be in charge of the choir boys who would be hunting for food. Ralph thinks that they must light a fire by using Piggy’s glasses so to attract the attention of passing ships, hoping that someone would see the fire and save them. The boys succeed in making a fire, but it burned down quickly because no one was watching the fire. Jack thinks that Ralph shouldn’t be the leader and Jack forms a new tribe.
• Climax
The boys thought that there was a beast in a cave on the island, and none of them dared to go in to find out who or what the beast actually was. Simon was brave, and he found out that the true identity of the beast was actually a dead...

...Essay
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
The novel, Lord of the Flies, takes place on a dessert island in the 20th century.
It is not a very big island, and though it is beautiful it is also mysterious, and consist the unknown. There are places, which look like the Garden of Eden, but the fruit gives them diarrhea, at day it is a paradise, but at night the children get nightmares.
Like this the Fable by William Golding is filled with contrast and symbols.
Ralph is the main character in the story. He symbolises the average person. He is a normal, English boy about 12 years. He has fair hair, and is very proper.
In the beginning of the novel, Ralph and Piggy is alone on the Island. Here Ralph is arrogant, rood, bragging, and only concerned of him self. He is an unknowing child, and not very nice towards Piggy.
But it is with the help of Piggy that Ralph calls all the other boys to a gathering, by blowing a conch.
The conch is the symbol of power, rules, and the one who gathered all the boys.
This way of calling them all to an assembling makes Ralph the natural leader.
As the story develops, Ralph does as well. He becomes more concerned about the others, and even though he has been acting like the leader from the start, he gets better at it as the time goes by. He becomes more adult. From the start it was very important to him to build a rescue fire, to built huts, and make rules, all to be civilized....

...Civilization vs. Savagery
What do symbols illustrate in novels? In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, symbols are illustrated through people, objects, and colors. In this novel, a group of children are faced with the difficulty of living isolated from society after their plane crashes on a deserted island. With no formal civilization, parents, or rules, the kids have the freedom to do as they choose. Throughout the novel, the boys find and use objects on the island that symbolize something of different importance. In Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses different objects to symbolize the difference between civilization and savagery.
One of the first symbols presented in the Lord of the Flies is the conch shell. After the boys’ plane has crashed on the island, Ralph and Piggy, two of the main characters, find the conch lying in the sand on the beach. Ralph immediately recognizes the conch as being a possible way “to call the children to assemblies.” (Cox 170). The conch soon becomes one of the most powerful symbols of civilization in the novel. “He can hold it, when he’s speaking.” (Golding 33). This quote refers to the idea that, whoever has possession of the shell, may speak. It soon becomes a symbol of democratic power, proactively governing the boys. With Ralph being the leader, and Piggy by his side, the conch shell serves as an equivalent to the executive branch of...

...LORD OF THE FLIES
What is human nature? How does William Golding use it in such a simple story of English boys to precisely illustrate how truly destructive humans can be? Golding was in World War Two, he saw how destructive humans can be, and how a normal person can go from a civilized human beign into savages. In Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses the theme of human nature to show how easily society can collapse, and how self-destructive human nature is. Throughout the story Golding conveys a theme of how twisted and sick human nature can lead us to be. Many different parts of human nature can all lead to the collapse of society. Some of the aspects of human nature Golding plugged into the book are; destruction, demoralization, hysteria and panic. These emotions all attribute to the collapse of society. Golding includes character, conflict, and as well as symbolism to portray that men are inherently evil.
Golding makes very good use of characters in Lord of the Flies, he shows both good and evil through each of the characters. One of the characters that represents goodness is Simon. He is very good and pure, and has the most positive outlook. Simon is very different from the other boys, he seems to always be helping the Littluns and many other vulnerable boys such as Piggy. "Simon sitting between the twins and Piggy, wiped his mouth and shoved his piece of meat...

...Lord of the Flies Essay
Arthur Golden wrote “Adversity is like a strong wind. It tears away from us all but the things that cannot be torn, so that we see ourselves as we really are.” Adversities are unavoidable, and when they arise; people may not know how to handle the difficulties they are faced with. While in the middle of misfortunate situations, certain individuals reveal their true character and qualities they have that would not be present in normal circumstances. In the novel “Lord of the Flies” by William Golding, Golding suggests that people’s true characteristics and qualities are revealed when faced with adversity.
In the beginning of the novel Jack Merridew is seen as just another young and regular boy, with the characteristics of a natural leader. He itches to be chief of the boys, and does not enjoy not having complete control over everyone but is willing enough to go along with the group. Because of this, Jack relies on his status as leader of the choirboys to justify his authority.
“The freckles on Jack’s face disappeared under a blush of mortification. He started up, and then changed his mind and sat down while air rang.” Golding pg. 19
By this quote, it is obvious that Jack was frustrated and embarrassed that he was not elected chief, but was not willing to make a scene or go against the majority of the group. When Jack’s first opportunity comes to kill a pig,...

...
What Are the Main Factors,
Responsible For
The Loss of Civilisation In
Golding’s “Lord of the Flies”
23rd February 2014
“Lord of the Flies” is a social allegory written by William Golding. It is an allegory, meaning that every actions or characters, in the book represent an event, character or action in the real life. William Golding was an English writer, who served in the navy during the WWII. This gave him an understanding of what mankind was capable of, how dark and evil it, in truth, is. Another interesting moment is that everything at the beginning foreshadows something later on only on a bigger scale. For Example- the two fires or the deaths of Percival and Piggy. In this essay, I will talk about the key points that led to the loss of civilisation.
“We did everything adults would do. What went wrong?” -William Golding, Lord of the Flies
The first point, I would like to introduce is Jack’s impact on the community. Jack is a very strong individual, who believes that if you can’t solve a problem, you should just avoid it. As well as that he is the oldest and the strongest, which in theory should make him sensible, despite that, he chooses not to support rules and sensibility.
“Jack's face swam near him.
"And you shut up! Who are you, anyway? Sitting there telling people what to do. You can't hunt, you can't sing—"
"I'm chief. I was chosen."
"Why should choosing make any...

...The Unchanging Malevolence of Humankind
“The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked.” Jeremiah 17:9 depicted the human heart as a thing of deceit over 2,000 years ago. Fast forward to today, is this debatable topic still relevant? William Golding explores the topic through his novel Lord of the Flies. In the novel, a group of young boys from England crash land on an uninhabited island. The boys must try to get rescued according to the voted-in leader, Ralph. But another boy, Jack, thinks surviving is a more prevalent issue. After weeks of bickering, disasters, and pig hunts, some of the boys have lost all sense of civilization, becoming savages. This leads to the death of two boys, Piggy and Simon, and the loss of another little boy. The remaining group, apart from Ralph, has turned savage. They eventually get rescued, having to return to a civilized social order. Throughout the novel, the boys discover their inner morals without the pressure of humanity. Golding utilizes the characterization of Jack and the symbol of the Lord of the Flies to divulge that though it is concealed by the rules and regulations society bestows upon man, the evil lies within.
The layers of civilization’s expectations are tarnished by the savagery of instability found in nature as exemplified through the portrayal of Jack. When the boys first land on the island, Jack attempts to hunt and kill a pig. This violent act...

...William Golding’s Lord of the Flies
Oh the dreaded 12th grade reading book was finally here and ready to present itself. The syllabus explained it all but of course none of us heeded the written warning. I assumed we were all hoping that our teacher would suffer from a lapse in memory and forget all about the mind-numbing three weeks of reading. As we sat in our seats a paperback book was passed down the rows. I watched as the stack that once held 12 books slowly start to dwindle down, and as it approached my desk my heart began to race and the theme song to Jaws started blasting throughout the room the tempo increasing with every exchange. The music reached its finale and I was bitten, a book lay on my desk displaying an image of a boy dressed in a school uniform and a fly larger than the boy himself. Oh joy isn’t this going to be peachy, my sarcasm was taking over my mind about this book. As I continued to judge the book at every angle I flipped to the last page just to examine to number at the bottom of the page, 202, not bad I suppose. Then I turned to the back cover by where I was met by a quote that caught my attention. “Lord of the Flies (is my selection for The Book that Changed My Life) because it is both a story with a message and because it is a great tale of adventure. My advice about reading is to do a lot of it. – Stephen King.” Stephen King is well in my top 5 list of greatest...